By Two people arrested in connection with criminal damage to St. James’ Square trees
Following the damage to several of the newly-planted cherry trees in St. James’ Square in the early hours of yesterday morning, two people have now been arrested in connection with the incident.
The pair were captured on CCTV vandalising one of the trees just before two o’clock on Wednesday morning.
After investigating the incident and looking over the CCTV footage, Humberside Police have now arrested two people.
The trees were part of the new transformation of the square, which has only recently been unveiled to the public.
Councillor Stewart Swinburn said: “The damage was discovered by our staff at 6am (yesterday) morning.
“Lots of people are enjoying the newly rejuvenated St James’ Square so it’s upsetting for everyone to see this mindless vandalism.
“In the meantime, we will remove the damaged trees and look at options for replacing them in the autumn when the conditions are more suitable.”
Chief inspector Paul French said: “I am deeply saddened to see this wonton destruction.
“We understand the impact antisocial behaviour has on our local communities and we are committed to working proactively and collectively with local partners, businesses and communities to take action to tackle these issues and hold those responsible to account.
“Anyone with information that would help with our enquiries should call us on our non-emergency number 101 quoting reference 16/66423/21.”
